Slow Cooker Classic Pot Roast with Fork-Tender Chuck and Rich Gravy

Prepare this six-serving slow cooker pot roast as a batch: cook the beef along with vegetables together, divide the roast, carrots, onions, and gravy for later use, and then finish the plates with rice or mashed potatoes when serving. The tender chuck roast and caramelized vegetables produce a rich, savory conclusion for each serving.

A 3-5 pound chuck roast is seasoned with kosher salt for flavor. It also includes pepper, then seared with olive oil before it reaches the slow cooker. That browned surface adds color as well as deeper flavor, while onions and unpeeled carrots receive a brief caramelizing cook in the same skillet. Low-sodium beef broth, garlic, thyme, plus rosemary form the cooking liquid, while butter with flour turn two cups of it into gravy.

After the long cook, the roast should pull apart easily with a fork along with the vegetables, which should be tender rather than crisp in texture. The gravy is ready when the butter-flour mixture with reserved liquid simmers into a thicker sauce that coats the meat on the plate. Skipping the sear will not stop the roast from cooking, but it leaves out the browned bits that add to the richness. Do not rush into the flour’s one-minute cook, or its raw taste may remain after.

Serve the roast with the source’s suggested mashed potatoes or white rice along with spooning gravy over each portion of the meal. For later meals, keep some cooking liquid with the beef along with warming it in a skillet; the article notes that microwaving can cause it to dry out faster.